SEX sells, or so we are told. But it seems that in America you can have too much of a good thing.

A commercial was shot for Top Spin 4, a new video game featuring a grunting, sweating and scantily clad Serena Williams. The software makers, 2K Sports, decided it was simply too racy for television – certainly it would have breached pretty much every part of Wimbledon’s dress code – but not before one of the co-stars of the ad had posted a version on YouTube.

A spokesman for 2K Sports said: “As part of the process of creating marketing campaigns to support our titles, we pursue a variety of creative avenues.

“This video is not part of the title’s final marketing campaign and its distribution was unauthorised.”